Author: ajay

There’s been a backlog of blog posts ever since the house move, so I’d just like to give the heads-up to the following products I tried recently:

Havaianas…. I Heart! Summer is for flip-flops and I adore the pairs of Havaianas I got recently, especially the one with “Blogger Ajay” spelled out on the straps. The latter is a result of the “Make Your Own Havaianas” event I attended recently in the Rockwell Tent. In the past, I would have shunned a signature brand for my tsinelas (slippers) since it’s just tsinelas anyway. But I like how Havaianas lets you express your individuality with a large selection of styles to choose from. At the “Make Your Own Havaianas,” you can embellish your slip-ons with Swarovski studs, letters in the alphabet or symbols like headphones and further customize them with lacinhos (”little laces”). The Rockwell Tent was filled to the brim with Havaianas fans and am sure next year’s event will be another hit.

D & G IS FOR DAVID & GOLIATH! I love my PJ’s and I blog, in fact, in my pajamas. So when David & Goliath gave bloggers like moi a chance to try their products, I didn’t choose a tee but their pajama line. Yes, they do have them and unkempt me is shown here wearing their “I Only Have Ice For You ” PJ. Don’t really know what this means (since am not turning frigid anytime soon :D) but David & Goliath has made a name for their wry sense of humor anyway. The brand recently unveiled their Little Losers line-up where you can choose from tags like “Mr. Fartface,” “Mr. Tightwad” and ” Ms. Spoiled Brat.” Hurray! They even have a “Bloggers Suck” tee. David & Goliath has freestanding stores in Bonifacio High Street, Power Plant Mall, TriNoma, Robinsons Place Midtown, Greenbelt 5 and inside Rustan’s Makati.

Zen Zest is a Filipino home and beauty brand I patronize. Bought in fact their room and linen fragrance as gifts last Christmas.Their publicist Claire recently gave me their coconut conditioner and shampoo to try and am now using it. I guess they got me at the word ‘coconut’ and I just love the familiar coconut scent. For Father’s Day, Zen Zest is offering a 20 per cent discount off special packages of their coconut oil and aromatherapy items. Check it out!

My favorite breakfast at the moment is the McDonald’s Hamdesal. You know how some people say that McDonald’s bread wins over Jollibee? Well,a m simply floored (floured?) by their pan de sal version. It comes in ham, ham & cheese, & ham & egg flavor. W00t! The best things in life cost less than a dollar (39 pesos), with free coffee to boot!

It was love at first sight between me and the Golden Egg Roll sold by Baker’s Passion, a new bakery-cafe in Robinson’s Midtown. Something tells me that the place is the lost twin sister of Bread Talk since they have similar selections like the kaya and floss-crusted bread.

A pair of sausages sandwiched in a fluffy bun are aptly called “Binoculars.” Isn’t that cute? Makes me wonder why we can’t have bakery goodies like what these Singaporean-Malaysian chains offer. There’s just something about the texture and fluffiness of their bread, they’re even creatively done. I guess cost and the rising prices of flour is still a consideration but there must be something to inspire our local bakers. I love, love pan de sal but it’s soooo last century, together with Spanish bread, mamon, kababayan and the whole lot of them.

But this is not really what this blog post is all about. I just find it funny that Baker’s Passion prohibited me (the blogger :P) from taking pictures of their items and their spanking new place.

“Am sorry Ma’am but we don’t allow picture-taking inside. If you want, you can write a letter to the owner and we will forward it to our head office,” the poor lady manager tasked to explain the situation to me said.

I accepted what she said, even though I had to surreptitiously take photos of what I ordered (see above!) It wasn’t surprising actually, since there are a number of places which impose the same. That’s why I have to ask permission first each time before they judge me a looney for flashing my digicam, a spy or both. But write the owner?? What the hey….

I began to compose the letter in my mind:

Dear Mr. Chen (or whatever the owner’s name was),

It was my first time to visit your place today and I must say it’s lovely. I am determined to splurge my $3 daily budget for snacking just to try the delicious-looking items in your counter. There is just something about the golden crust and pretty designs of your expensive breads which calls out to me and makes me flash not only my wallet but also my digicam. Call it a compulsion and my boyfriend knows this for a fact, but I just gotta take food pictures!

You see Mr. Chen, am a blogger and there’s something about this passion/avocation which makes words incomplete without a picture. That’s why am asking your permission to allow me to take a shot, short of getting free advertising for your obscure place. You don’t know blogging you mean? Maybe you can start with what I googled here: Introduction to Blogging.

Your “no picture-taking” policy is traditional to say the least, but times have changed and it is high time merchants like you reconsider. It’s not like your precious recipes are going to be pirated out of the kitchen at the sight of a zoom lens. Cellphones and digicams are as commonplace as baking pans and spatulas these days. Most of the time, when your customers take pictures, it’s not like they’re spying on you. They just want souvenirs of the monstrously-priced food they ordered from the menu, or they’re crazed bloggers like me who simply have. To take. A picture!

Hoping for your consideration of this matter, I remain

Hopelessly devoted to your egg roll,
Ajay

As of press time, this letter is a work in progress

Man has come a long way since latrines and poo-ing in leaves and newspapers (honestly did this once, while camping!) We now have portalets and a multitude of designs for home bathrooms. I was prepared for some normalcy until I saw the ‘his and hers’ toilet bowl from TwoDaLoo…..

It is described as ” the world’s first toilet two people can use … at the exact same time. The TwoDaLoo features two side-by-side toilet seats with a modest privacy wall in between. An upgraded version includes a seven inch LCD television and iPod docking station. ”

The dual bowl promises to “bring couples closer together and conserve our water supply, all with one flush.” The latter is commendable, the former questionable. I don’t think too many couples will take to it like ducks to water (pardon the pun), and that’s me included. I want my own toilet private time…wouldn’t you? The Bible did say “for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health..,” but it wasn’t about to say “till constipation and yer smelly poop do us part.”

Speaking of which….

Our office recently installed smart/electronic toilets similar to the ones I saw in Japan and that found in Sango Burger’s Makati branch.

It’s cool! Unlike Sango’s, ours has the friendly buttons located directly to your right. You can adjust the toilet seat temperature, water temperature and strength of water flow from low, moderate to high. Also you can choose to turn on the “auto deodorizer” and select between “shower,” “bidet” and “dry.” I like the drizzle of hot water and all this makes me super clean. My wish would be for these toilets to have vibrate function as well. Tall order you say, hmm? Nuff said.

Since I think it’s really criminal to spend P500 per person on a mundane lunch meal in Manila, I was so glad to stumble upon the doorsteps of Takaaki’s Restaurant at HK Sun Plaza in the reclaimed area’s Diosdado Macapagal Avenue.

At only P199, they have the cheapest Japanese lunch buffet I can find now in Manila.

Eat all you can is the key phrase here, and it depends on where you want to start. Advice number one is to skip breakfast and go to the place hungry.

You can begin by laying out your meat and seafood on the built-in hibachi grill, while your stuff for the shabu-shabu cooks in the background…. Takaaki’s display counter has a wide selection of greens, noodles, seafood and meat.

Or have a taste of their fish and shrimp tempura. For the bargain price, they’re certainly plump

Or order the assorted sushi. The cup of fried rice is delicious with the grilled barbecue.

A cup of iced tea and a trio of desserts to cap the meal.

It is always fun to cook the meal in your own table. And I like shabu-shabu because I get to eat some greens and it looks healthy.

Eat all you can tempura, sushi, yakiniku and barbecue?? It’s the real deal! The place just opened last May 1 so this must be some kind of promotion. I thought Takaaki’s owner ran some kind of charity soup kitchen with all that food. But it’s all good!

Am a car owner who also happens to be a big fan of commuting, specifically using overhead LRT/MRT trains to reach North to South of Manila, and vice versa, in a jiffy. I find jeepneys obtrusive and a nuisance, although I could tolerate the airconditioned ones in Makati and the environment-friendly e-jeepneys, which I have written about in this blog a number of times already.

Now comes the latest news from Greenpeace: the transportation department has officially classified e-jeepneys as public vehicles and will now be allowed to operate in major thoroughfares.

Green Renewable Independent Power Producer, which is working with Greenpeace in the e-jeepney project welcomed the move,” especially at a time when skyrocketing diesel and fossil fuel prices have considerably decreased the income of jeepney drivers.”

“The DOTC’s go-signal also means that we can now proceed with scaling up E-Jeepney fleets in various host cities, giving the Philippines the opportunity to leapfrog into climate-friendly
sustainable transport,” said GRIPP Chairperson Athena Ballesteros.

Here’s the Greenpeace backgrounder on -ejeeps:

” The E-Jeepneys were launched last July 4, 2007 in Makati City, as part
of a larger initiative called the Climate Friendly Cities Project. The
project demonstrates how cities can help mitigate the problem of climate
change through implementing measures that would avoid the use of climate
change-inducing fossil fuels. Through the project, a fleet of
electric-powered jeepneys will derive energy from biodegradable wastes
from the city’s wet markets, food establishments and households, thereby
helping mitigate climate change even as it addresses urban problems such
as air pollution and solid waste, while providing enhanced incomes to
the jeepney drivers. The project is sponsored in part by the Dutch Doen
Foundation and is currently supported by Makati, Baguio and Puerto
Princesa Cities.”

Greenpeace and GRIPP are now calling on the national
government to institute large-scale climate change solutions such as
phasing out coal-fired power plants, and the immediate passage of a
strong renewable energy legislation.

What say you Mayor Fred Lim, Mayor Nene Aguilar, Mayor Marides Fernando and the rest of ‘em high-performing metro mayors?!

This blog supports environment-friendly initiatives…just don’t let me go vegetarian soon